Aerospace Engineering MSc

Overview

Have you always been captivated by the question „What makes things fly?”, then progressing to Aerospace Engineering MSc can help you understand.
Designed to expand your knowledge and expertise in aerospace and aeronautical engineering, this course includes subjects such as computer aided engineering, advanced engineering simulation and emerging advanced aircraft technologies like unmanned air vehicles, commonly known as drones.

The aerospace and aviation industry is committed to a more sustainable future and our course covers the appropriate techniques, methods and subjects within this ever-changing industrial environment in more detail. With an emphasis on applied technical work, particular prominence is given to sustainable aviation, advanced materials and processes, computational fluid dynamics, structural analysis and simulation, flight dynamics and simulation.

Course information

The work carried out on this course is designed to provide the demonstrable expertise and skills necessary to help secure professional level employment in the highly demanding aviation and aerospace industries.

You will also undertake a substantial project to further develop your analytical, critical communication and presentation skills. Students have worked on projects proposed and in collaboration with companies, which in the past have included: the control of satellites with actuator failures with Airbus Defence and Space; curve versus flat impact, analysing stiffness, strength and failure mechanisms with MBDA; the effect of surface preparation (roughness) on composite and metal joints with MBDA; and aerospace manufacturing processes with Rolls Royce.

Why choose this course?

The School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Automotive Engineering enjoys a global reputation for excellent teaching, outstanding student experience and exciting research.

We enjoy strong and regular industry input to the subject, achieved through long-standing industry advisory boards, the use of guest speakers from industry and industry-focused collaborative research initiatives with companies such as Emirates, Jaguar Land Rover, Airbus, Rolls Royce, Unipart and Birmingham International Airport.

You will have access aerospace facilities, including a Mercedes-Petronas wind tunnel and a suite of flight simulators that have been networked to allow for air traffic control over a shared air space, structural analysis equipment including fatigue analysis. These ensure you gain critical aerospace expertise together with transferrable skills in disciplines such as computer aided design (CAD), finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

Our academics and former practitioners aim to their professional and research experience into teaching; staff possess specialist expertise in a variety of disciplines, for example, in aerodynamics, flight dynamics and avionics. They have been employed as aerospace engineers, on applications including thermal engineering, for companies such as HS Marston and worked closely as research fellows with aerospace companies, such as Airbus on aerospace structures analysis, Airbus defence and space on spacecraft control and BAe in aerodynamics applications.

There are opportunities to work on exciting research projects with co-supervision by some of the major aerospace companies, including MBDA, Rolls Royce and Airbus. A number of MSc projects are also linked to the activities within our faculty research centres; for instance current flight dynamics projects in the area of human factors analysis of pilot workload are aligned with funded research at the Centre for Mobility and Transport. We also support a summer internship scheme, which provides you with the opportunity to undertake funded research in topics including aircraft autonomy, engine CFD analysis, fatigue in aircraft structures, flight path planning and flight dynamics.

International experience opportunities

The University is committed to providing a global educational experience and we encourage you to undertake a placement year or study year abroad after your second year of study.

We have a student exchange agreement with Bologna University in Italy, which enables students to apply to work and study there for one semester. We have also developed a range of associations with institutions across the globe to expand study abroad and collaborative project opportunities, including the University of Chile, Purdue University, Supelec/Paris, Redbull, Rolls Royce, MBDA, Airbus Defence and Space, to name but a few.

Career prospects

After the United States, the UK has the second largest aerospace industry in the world, employing around 230,000 people in over 3,000 companies, including BAE Systems, GKN and Rolls-Royce, and a range of international companies with operations in the UK, such as Airbus, Cobham, AgustaWestland, Finmeccanica, Thales, Boeing and Bombardier.